Chapter 28

Zhang Sheng and the Daoist sat in the small courtyard, while Wei Yuan stood behind Zhang Sheng, listening.

The Daoist stroked his beard and said: "There are seven subjects for this session of centralized study, one class per day, each lasting half a day. The names and contents of the subjects are all here."

Zhang Sheng took the jade paper handed over by the Daoist and glanced at it, seeing seven titles written on it: "Human General History," "Tang History," "Immortal Path Common Knowledge," "Dao Foundation Theory," "Heaven and Earth Theory," "Qi Luck Theory," and "Technique Theory," with detailed explanations under each. Zhang Sheng was naturally familiar with these subjects and pondered: "The curriculum places such importance on history; I wonder why?"

The Daoist said: "Fenhai Zhenjun Yan Shi says that by understanding the past, one can know the present; by using history as a mirror, one can know the rise and fall. Our human race started from humble beginnings, and our predecessors struggled through countless difficulties to reach today's situation; we naturally cannot forget the aspirations of our ancestors."

Zhang Sheng nodded and said: "The Zhigu Faction must be very happy; otherwise, they wouldn't have let this proposal pass so easily."

The Daoist said: "Fenhai Zhenjun Yan Xing did indeed put in a great deal of effort to push for centralized study. If your disciple wants to participate, just sign up and pay the tuition fee."

"There's a tuition fee?"

"The fee is ten taels of immortal silver per subject, paid for seven rounds in advance, totaling four hundred and ninety taels of immortal silver. The cultivation resources needed for the classes are calculated separately."

Zhang Sheng was startled: "So expensive?"

The Daoist said: "After all, the teachers also need to be supported, and the resources consumed in the classes must also be calculated. If each hall has disciples participating in centralized study, the masters can also save a lot of time and energy to use elsewhere. In the past, each hall cultivated its own disciples, and many expenses weren't felt. Now that they are taught together, everything has to be calculated, so naturally, it feels expensive."

The logic was sound, but Zhang Sheng estimated his savings, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

Zhang Sheng had been away from the sect for seven years after finishing his cultivation, and since he hadn't contributed to the sect, he received no monthly stipend by rule. After returning, he was fined three years' salary, which was equivalent to ten years of zero income. Zhang Sheng had cultivated rapidly in the past and consumed many resources; even though most of the resources were provided by the Azure Heaven Hall, he hadn't saved a single bit himself.

Taking stock now, Zhang Sheng realized his remaining savings were barely enough to pay for three months of Wei Yuan's classes, and that was only the basic fee—cultivation classes required resources, and the Daoist said those were calculated separately!

Zhang Sheng hesitated and asked: "I wonder if this tuition fee... has any discounts?"

Seeing the Daoist hesitate, Zhang Sheng's face felt hot, and he hurriedly said: "It doesn't matter if there aren't any."

The Daoist sighed: "To be honest with you, Junior Brother, there are some discounts for some disciples. For example, the disciples of Fenhai Zhenjun Yan Xing and Fenhai Zhenjun Feng Yuan only need to pay seventy percent."

The two True Lords were the leaders of the Dingxin Faction; they had pushed for centralized study, and most of the teachers were selected from the Dingxin Faction, so it was only natural to give some discounts to their own disciples.

Just seeing the Daoist stuttering, Zhang Sheng knew something was wrong and immediately pressed: "What else?"

The Daoist finally said: "The proposal for this centralized study was only able to be implemented because several True Lords of the Zhigu Faction were key; only with their nod could we have centralized study today. The Zhigu Faction has many disciples, and in order to get them to participate as much as possible, the two True Lords specifically stipulated that if a Zhigu Faction disciple signs up, the tuition fee is only charged at half price, and the same applies to the consumption of resources."

The more Zhang Sheng heard, the more wrong it felt, and he slammed the table: "Half price for the Zhigu Faction, thirty percent off for the Dingxin Faction! And what about my Azure Heaven Hall?"

The Daoist's eyes flickered as he looked elsewhere: "Your hall has three disciples this session, and they are not on the discount list."

Zhang Sheng was furious: "There are over a hundred disciples in this session, and only my Azure Heaven Hall's disciples have to pay the full amount? This is simply bullying! Such injustice cannot be tolerated! I'm going to find the person in charge and argue this!"

Hearing the word "argue," the Daoist could only smile bitterly: "Junior Brother, you don't know. Over the past few years, the Zhigu and Dingxin factions have been fighting fiercely. Only the Azure Heaven Hall has remained impartial, 'arguing' with both sides. Although it was all about things unrelated to the strife between the two factions, they inadvertently ruined quite a few good things for both sides, creating no small amount of resentment. To put it bluntly, the Dingxin Faction not charging your hall several times the tuition fee is already a sign of their broad-mindedness."

Zhang Sheng, however, did not accept this and sneered: "I understand. The Dingxin Faction just doesn't want my Azure Heaven Hall's disciples to participate in centralized study. If we don't go, we don't go; at worst, I'll teach him myself! Hmph, those noble families all have unique secret techniques for opening wisdom, claiming early enlightenment, but in the end, wasn't it my Yuan'er who took first place?"

The Daoist looked at Wei Yuan and said: "This disciple of yours is indeed a heaven-sent talent, hard for others to compare with. Oh, Junior Brother, you've decided to teach him yourself, right? I'll go report that..."

"Wait!" Zhang Sheng reacted with lightning speed, grabbing the Daoist: "Let me see the list of instructors!"

The Daoist had no choice but to take out another jade paper and hand it over.

Zhang Sheng took it and understood somewhat. On the first page of the list, there were two people he had "argued" with, which clearly meant personal grievances. The remaining senior Daoists were indeed virtuous and learned, but in Zhang Sheng's view, they were just so-so—he respected them but didn't admire them, so there was no connection. When he flipped to the second page, Zhang Sheng's expression changed slightly.

"Feng Feng Chutang? He's also out teaching?"

The Daoist said: "This is Fenhai Zhenjun Feng Yuan's intention, wanting him to contribute a little to the Palace's cause. The Fenhai Zhenjun said that to preach, teach, and resolve doubts, when preaching, one doesn't just resolve the doubts of the disciples, but also one's own. I heard that Senior Brother Feng and you had a somewhat... discordant relationship back then."

Actually, the Daoist was being tactful. The relationship between Zhang Sheng and Feng Feng Chutang back then was more than just discordant; it was almost a life-and-death feud. The two of them had fought three times in public, fighting until both were severely injured before stopping, and there were countless private sparring matches.

With this kind of relationship between the two, it would be strange if Wei Yuan didn't lose a few layers of skin if he ended up in Feng Feng Chutang's class.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Sheng said: "We'll go!"

"What?" The Daoist couldn't believe his ears.

"We'll participate in centralized study!"

"But, but Senior Brother Feng..."

Zhang Sheng hummed and said: "Since he dares to come out and teach, we dare to go and learn! Could he really be so shameless as to make things difficult for a junior? At most, he'll just assign more homework. Yuan'er, are you afraid of hardship?"

Zhang Sheng had asked this question three years ago, and it was answered by Wei Youcai; now Wei Yuan answered himself: "People from our village are least afraid of hardship."

Zhang Sheng said: "Very good, sign us up!"

The Daoist was stunned for a moment, sighed, and said: "Then please pay the tuition fee, Junior Brother!"

Zhang Sheng's face stiffened for a moment: "I just returned to the Palace and didn't bring any immortal silver with me. Wait a moment, I'll go back to my cave dwelling to get it."

The Daoist said: "No problem, I'll wait here."

After Zhang Sheng left the courtyard, the Daoist looked at Wei Yuan and said: "Your master will be gone for a while. Since there's nothing to do, I'll tell you about the origin of my Grand Beginning Palace; this is also part of the common knowledge curriculum for the immortal path."

(End of chapter)